A delegation from the Eximbank of China on Friday met with Bolivia's mining minister to discuss the El Mutun iron ore exploration project.
The Chinese delegation was led by Chen Han, division chief for the Eximbank, and Jiang Ming, field manager for concessionary loans. They met with Mining and Metallurgy Minister Cesar Navarro, along with a management team from Bolivia's state-owned enterprise Empresa Siderurgica del Mutun.
"As a bank, we will follow the complete evaluation protocols about this project," said Chen after the meeting.
On Jan. 19, Chinese state-owned enterprise Sinosteel Equipment won the bid for the mining project, located in the eastern town of Puerto Suarez, the investment cost of which is at least 450 million U.S. dollars.
The objective is to produce 150,000 tons of rolled steel a year within the next decade. This would fulfill 60 percent of the domestic demand in Bolivia, which currently imports all its rolled steel from Brazil and Peru.
According to Navarro, the contract with Sinosteel will be signed in February. He predicted that Bolivia will save more than 230 million U.S. dollars a year once this project is fully under way.
